


Schoolboy Crushes

by pinkpompom



Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Fluff, Gay, M/M, Teasing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-25
Updated: 2013-07-25
Packaged: 2017-12-21 07:19:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/897461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pinkpompom/pseuds/pinkpompom
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Newton just enjoys teasing the shit out of Hermann, as he really makes it too easy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Schoolboy Crushes

The amount of time Newton Geiszler and Hermann Gottlieb spent in their shared lab would drive any normal person insane. The two scientists spent so much time pouring over their work with such intense concentration and dedication that they would hardly notice when five, maybe even eight hours had passed. They often shared the odd bit of discussion over their hypothesises, new findings, and sometimes a small amount of gossip about the other crew members in the Shatterdome, though Hermann seldom participated with much enthusiasm and only responded to humour Newton.

Except for today, today was different. Newton was bored and had no new kaiju specimens to dissect or experiment with, as well as all his theories and work papers completed and submitted on time. He really should have been leaving the lab to catch up on some much needed rest, as the clock was ticking close to a normal quitting time anyhow, but he decided to stick around and have some fun messing around with his lab partner instead.

He sat at his desk, his back towards Hermann and his gigantic chalkboard, which he was currently writing on furiously while standing near the top of the tall ladder that stretched up the height of the board. Newton yawned loudly, leaning into his desk and pushing a stack of papers off his desk, leaving them to flutter and whip around in the air before falling unceremoniously into a disorganized pile on the floor.

Newton heard the wheels of the ladder squeak as Hermann no doubt whipped around to see what caused the mess, but he keeps his head low against the desk, pretending to be asleep.

“Doctor Geiszler!” Hermann exclaimed irritably, clambering down slowly from his ladder and quickly snatching up his cane that he left leaning against his desk. He hurried over to Newton’s workspace; his body slumped over on top of his keyboard and various papers. 

“What on earth are you doing, wake up you imbecile!” Hermann rapped his cane against the back of Newton’s chair, jiggling his foot impatiently. 

Newton jerked his head up, pretending to be startled awake, but he was actually quite alarmed by the cane hitting the back of his chair; he wasn’t really expecting that. “Oh, sorry Hermann, guess I dozed off!”

Hermann’s eyes narrowed, displeased with Newton’s use of his first name. “That’s rather irresponsible of you, _Doctor Geiszler_. Perhaps it would be wise to head to your own quarters for a proper rest.”

“Hah, I’m not so tired now, no need to worry about me!” Newton smiled earnestly up at Hermann’s miffed face, doing his best to hide any plans he had up his sleeve.

“… I rather not care to think of what you would do without me here to remind you to sleep.” Hermann rubbed his temple with his free hand like an irritated parent and turned on his heel to head back to his enormous blackboard.

Newton took his opportunity to reach around and pinch Hermann’s bum through his high-waisted wool trousers, snickering to himself as he quickly turned back away to avoid facing Hermann’s wrath.

Hermann swung around faster than Newton had ever seen him move, his face flush red with blush and his dark brows furrowed into a knot of wrinkles up his forehead, along with his hand clenched tightly around the handle of his cane. “What the blasted--? DOCTOR--“

Newton put on his smallest, most innocent smile before turning back around to face the fuming ball of fury in a sweater that is Doctor Gottlieb. “What? What’s wrong, Hermmy?”

“Do. _Not_. Call. Me. _That_.” Hermann said, flustered beyond belief, punctuating his sentences at every word, making his aggravation clear. “What exactly are you attempting to do here, Mister Geiszler?” He huffed heavily out his nose, his cheek twitching. 

“Mmm, nothing, nothing at all! You can go back to work, I’ll let you be and go get some sleep.” Newton winked playfully, trying to cool Hermann down a little before standing up and spreading his arms out. “Can I get a hug, maybe?”

“D-don’t be absurd...” Hermann stuttered, stumbling backwards away from the overly affectionate man in front of him. “This is a work environment, there is no room for your ludicrous shenanigans...” His face was still flush red, but he was no longer making eye contact with Newt, choosing to study his well-polished shoes instead.

Newton chuckled as he put his hands on his hips and gave Hermann a smile so genuine, even he couldn’t argue against it. He swaggered away mockingly; trying his best to not give away how much fun it is to tease Hermann like a schoolboy.

Instead of leaving the room though, Newton chose to hide behind a large kaiju organ specimen tank and wait for Hermann to finish his equation on the board. He watched him for a moment, observing just how close and focused he was on his number work, his hand flickering and darting around the board with remarkable speed as he copied down variables and symbols from his notes onto the dusty green chalkboard. His nose was barely two centimetres away from the surface; so close even that some of the chalk residue had migrated to the tip of his nose and was smudged across his boney cheek. His hair was slightly unkempt, small flyaway hairs sticking up around the back of his part and his bangs were swept in different directions. 

Newton felt himself getting a bit bothered just watching his partner work, he found his studiousness rather endearing, in a strange student-teacher crush way. The way he spoke to Newton, despite being pretty damn condescending most of the time, really turned him on. Hey, he couldn’t help it; he just really seemed to like Hermann’s constantly stiff and proper tone. It felt like a challenge, something he had to take upon himself to change. And it definitely wasn’t an easy one, considering he’d seriously been like that his whole life. Drifting together gave Newt a whole new insight on Hermann’s childhood and what he was like growing up, and he wasn’t at all surprised; he was just as much of a curmudgeon at 13 as he was at 37.

Hermann had started to descend from his ladder, and Newt quickly snapped out of this thought bubble to focus on the plan at hand; make Hermann break character and blush as much as possible. The other lab crew had already left about an hour earlier, leaving the lab completely empty besides the two of them.

He waited for Hermann to finish sorting his papers, logging off of his computer, and grabbing his cane before Newton casually waltzed back out from behind the kaiju organ tank, his hands folded calmly behind his back and his face bearing a smug, tight grin. 

Hermann didn’t notice him at first, still staring up at his blackboard equations with a contemplative look on his face.

“Hey Hermann, are you made of Fluorine, Iodine, and Neon? 'Cause you sure are F-I-Ne!” Newton said in his cheesiest voice, which actually came off rather charming.

“Wha-- Newton!” Hermann jumped at the sound of Newton’s voice, his cane making a loud clicking sound against the floor. “I thought you had retired for the night. And what on earth was that you just said? Some sort of ludicrous pickup line you picked up in college, I presume.” He lifted an eyebrow rather pompously, his hands both placed over his cane.

“Hey, you used my first name, good job buddy! And yeah, somewhere like that I guess.” Newton strutted over closer to Hermann, his hands now placed jauntily on his hips. “You know, your outfit is pretty nice today, is that the sweater I bought you for Christmas?” 

“W-well yes, it is. You should know, you are the one who bought it for me.” Hermann looked down at the navy blue sweater with white stitch detailing around the collar and wrists. It was plain for the most part, but suited him perfectly. However, he frowned at Newton's effort to flatter him, deciding instead to stare at him intently with the same piercing eyes, waiting for his next attempt.

“Well duh, it looks good on you, Hermmy! That’s why I bought it for you.” Newton continued on, his smile unfading, though his cheeks now growing pinker. “The work day is over y’know, you can relax a bit.” 

“And what makes you think I’m unrelaxed, Mister Geiszler?” Hermann’s face relaxed as he spoke, the creases in his face fading and his ears dropping with the lack of tensity. 

“Well, for one, you can quit calling me Geiszler and just call me Newt, you were so close a minute ago!” Newton jabbed an elbow into Hermann’s side, grinning from ear to ear. “For seconds, you can join me at the bar tonight and grab a couple beers, hm?”

“I care not for such… physicalities.” Hermann muttered as he dusted off the non-existent germs left behind by Newton’s elbow. “However, _Newt_ , I will consider joining you for a drink tonight, on a condition.” His eyes lit up knowingly, corners of his mouth turning upward into what looked like a scheming smirk.

“YES! Seriously? Alright buddy you got it, whatever you want!” Newton was elated, so much that he even raised his arm for a high-five, forgetting that there was no chance in hell Hermann would ever high-five him.

Hermann eyed Newton’s outstretched hand disapprovingly, Newton’s arm faltering down back to his side. “On the condition that, in future, you refrain from touching my posterior without my permission.”

“Ah- Oh. Well, haha, if that’s all then, that’s fine.” Newton’s smile faded slightly, as he was hoping to do that more in future. “When do I ever have your permission to do that anyway?” He laughed nervously, expecting a monotone response.

“Well, I suppose you do right now.” Hermann’s face remained placid, but his eyes were twinkling with mischief.

“Yeah ri -- Wait, seriously?” Newton’s entire face lit up, his hands leaping off of his hips and out in front of him. With one hand he reached slowly, but not too slowly, just enough to be cautious, and touched the back of Hermann’s pants, in a sort of ‘testing the waters’ act.

Hermann only smiled, tight-lipped and eyes rolling. “Yes, yes, if that’s what you were so focused on achieving today, I sincerely do not mind as long as you refrain from being quite so rough about it.”

“Hey, that’s not all I wanted! I just was goofing around, can’t a guy do that?” Newton squeezed his hand around Hermann’s butt again, quickly retracting his hand so as to not overstep his boundaries. “I just wanted to make you blush, and I think I succeeded!” 

Rather than responding with something clever, Hermann found himself blushing even more, his one hand slipping off the handle of his cane as Newton wrapped an arm around his shoulders, jostling him as he laughed.

“Quit it! Come on, let’s go grab that drink you promised me now, hmm?” Newton giggled like a schoolboy as he lead Hermann out of the lab, shutting the lights off behind them.

Sneakily, Hermann slipped a hand around Newton’s back and managed to grab a quick butt-pinch of his own, unable to resist getting his own back.

“Hey!” Newton jumped at the touch, but really accepted it as a major compliment. Maybe old curmudgeon Hermmy was warming up to him a little more finally.


End file.
